Chestertown in Kent County, Maryland — The American Northeast (Mid-Atlantic)
Henry Highland Garnet Elementary School
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), June 13, 2026
1. Henry Highland Garnet Elementary School Marker
Garnet School, built 1916, was a wooden structure located on College Avenue, built under the leadership of Emma L. Grason Miller, Kent County's first Black Supervisor of Colored Schools 1911-1922. Its first graduating class of five students was in 1925. Born in Baltimore, MD, in 1869, Emma received her elementary education at the St. Frances School for Colored Girls, now St. Frances Academy. In 1882, she graduated from the Hampton Agricultural and Industrial School, a school of higher education for Negroes and Native Americans, now historic Hampton University.
The school was named for Henry Highland Garnet, born 1815. Garnet was a renowned orator, preacher, abolitionist, and first Black speaker to address the House of Representatives following the passage of the 13th Amendment. At the age of nine, Garnet escaped slavery with his family from New Market, (Chesterville) Kent County.
In 1949, this brick structure was built for Black students in grates 1 - 12, until full integration of county schools in 1967.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Abolition & Underground RR • African Americans • Education. A significant historical year for this entry is 1916.
Location. 39° 12.757′ N, 76° 4.193′ W. Marker is in Chestertown, Maryland, in
this page online
Regionally, this marker is on the Eastern Shore. It is also in the American Mid-Atlantic, on the Delmarva Peninsula, in the Tidewater, and in the Chesapeake Bay Region. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once one of the original Thirteen Colonies and also the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within walking distance of this marker: The Uptown Club (about 400 feet away, measured in a direct line); Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church (about 400 feet away); The Kent County Free School (approx. Ό mile away); Site of the Kent Manufacturing Company (approx. Ό mile away); First Methodist Episcopal Church (approx. Ό mile away); Lynching in America / The Lynching of James Taylor (approx. 0.3 miles away); William Beck Nicholson (approx. 0.3 miles away); American Victory (approx. 0.3 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Chestertown.
Another marker is no longer nearby. Baltimore Regional Trail (was approx. 0.3 miles away but has been confirmed missing).
Photographed by Devry Becker Jones (CC0), June 13, 2026
2. Henry Highland Garnet Elementary School Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on June 14, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 14, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia. This page has been viewed 4 times since then. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 14, 2026, by Devry Becker Jones of Washington, District of Columbia.
